Polarizing vizor or sunshade



June 18, 1935. E. H. LAND" POLARIZING VIZOR. OR SUNS HA'DE Filed Nov. 3, 1935 I INVENTOR Y A omvzrs Patented June 18, 1935 g UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE POLARIZING VIZOR R SUNSHADE Edwin H. Land, Wellesley Farms, Mass. ApplicationNovember 3, 1933, Serial No. 696,459

' 10 Claims. (01.88-41) This invention relates to an improved sun-glass, A principal problem in the manufacture of sunand more particularly to such a glass wherein the glasses or other glare vizors is the elimination of lenses or viewing screens comprise a plurality of both the specular and the diffuse glare. Somesuperimposed light polarizing bodiestimes specular glare alone may be present, at

* The invention has for its objectgenerally an other times diffuse glare alone y be P improved sun-glass which may be produced in a and at still other times both specular and diffuse convenient and efficient manner, and which is lare may be pr nt- A sunlass dap d f readily adapted to manufacturing procedure, general use therefore must be designed to elimi- More specifically, the invention has for its obnate both specular and diffuse glare. At times, as,

ject the provision of an improved sun-glass or for example, when the glass is to be used on the 10 eye shade adjustable to the wishes of the user, water, it may be desirable to eliminate specular so that the lenses or viewing screens may be adglare only without-substantial dimunition in the J'usted to pass any amount of light from a predelight received by diffusion from objects generally.

v term ned maximum to a predetermined mini- Commercial sun-glasses and similar glare vizors l6 mum. have been designed largely with the idea of cut- 16 A further object of the invention is to provide ting down the light transmitted without discrimisuch a sun-glass or eye shade in which a, fixed nating between the often desirable diffuse light lens or viewing screen is positioned over each eye and the undesirable spec a e.

of the user in such a way as to substantially pre- This invention contemplates a unlas 20 vent the passage of all light save that polarized S m ar la vizer which 15 adapted to eliminate to vibrate in a substantially vertical plane. Specular glare and adjus y adapted for redlle- Other objects of the invention will in part be in t intensity o t diffused light a Point obvious and will in part appear hereinafter. where that type of glare is eliminated.

The invention accordingly comprises the arti- In the embodiment of the invention shown in cle possessing the features, propertiesand the rethe drawing, It represents any suitable frame or 25 lation of elements which are exemplified in the upp r in m mber whi h, as shown, may comfollowing detailed disclosure; and the scope of the pri n r i y spectacle f m Th s f am i application of which will be indicated in the adapted to carry splurelity of p mp n claims. larizing lenses II and I2. As shown in the draw- For a fuller understanding of the nature and ins, of t s l s s, II f r xample, may b 30 objects of the invention, reference should be had firmly and permanently meuntedin the a e "I, to the following detailed description taken in con- While the other of these lenses y be a nection with the accompanying drawing, in y held y means of the h1g5 in P s adjawhich: cent the lens II. The lugs l3 are preferably so Figure 1 15 a, viewpartly in perspective and designed" 88 to hold the lens I! frictionally 35 partly in section, showing a sun-glass or eye sh against free movement, but not so tightly that the embodying one form of the invention with the user of the glass cannot easily rotate the lens I2 superimposed elements positioned, so as t pass if he should so desire. While the lens I! has been a maximum of light; shown as positioned preferably behind the lens 40 Fig. 2 is a view partly in'perspective a d partly I I, it will be obvious that, if desired, the rear lens 0 in section of a portion of the device shown in Fig. y be p a t h d n p s i by the frame 1, with the superimposed lenses positioned to p and the front lens rotatably mounted in relation a minimum of light; and thereto.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing how the In the drawing arrows M are shown associated elements of the device may be assembled. with the lenses. These are intended to illustrate The present invention contemplates the use in he Polarizing axes of the lenSeS- For p connection with a suitable frame or mounting of in Fig; l arrows l4 are shown as vertical in both a plurality of superimposed transparent 'lightthe lenses II and I2. In the Position Shown polarizing lenses, one of which is preferably set that figure it will be understood that each lens is in fixed relation to the mounting, and another of adapted to transmit light vibrating only in a ver- 50 which is preferably carried in rotatable relation tical plane. In Fig. 2 lens I2 is shown as rotated to the first mentioned lens. The lenses emthrough an angle of substantially so that its ployed are adapted preferably to plane polarize plane of polarization is now at right angles to light, that is to transmit light vibrating only inthat of lens ll. Lens ll still is adapted to transa single plane. mit light vibrating. only in a vertical plane, 5

whereas lens I2 is now adapted to transmit only light vibrating in a horizontal plane. In the position shown in Fig. l, the glass is adapted to transmit a maximum of light, and in the position shown in Fig. 2, the combined lenses are adapted to transmit a minimum of light.

The lenses H and I2 may comprise a suitable polarizing body which, if desired, may be mounted between two sheets of thin glass as a protection. A suitable polarizing body may comprise a set suspension of polarizing particles in a transparent medium, the particles being oriented so that their polarizing axes are substantially aligned and held by the medium in fixed position. Such a polarizing body is disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 1,918,848, which issued July 18, 1933, to Edwin H. Land and Joseph S. Friedman. The polarizing body described and claimed in that patent may be employed in this invention without the protective covering of glass described above.

In Fig. 3 of the drawing is shown, in somewhat greater detail, the frame with its permanently held front lenses. One of the rotatable rear lenses is shown as detached from the frame and ready to be positioned and held thereagainst by the lugs iii.

The permanently positioned lenses should preferably be so mounted in the frame as to pass light vibrating in a plane perpendicular to the ground. It is intended that the glasses are to be used on beaches and other places where the glare from the light reflected from the surface of the water may be intense. Much of such light is polarized, its plane of vibration being parallel to the surface from which it is reflected, i. e., in the case of light reflected from water, it will be largely plane polarized to vibrate in a horizontal plane. As it is intended that this specular glare shall at all times be eliminated, it is desirable to position the fixed lens in the manner described above.

A polarizing body of the type previously described is preferably employed as it may be obtained in thin, durable transparent sheets and as it possesses unlimited angular aperture.

It will be obvious that other means of mounting the lenses may be employed than those shown, and if desired a greater number of lenses may be employed. Means may also be provided for synchronizing the movement of the two rotatable lenses. I

Since certain changes may be made in the above article and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to'secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the character described, ophthalmic mounting means, and a plurality of pairs of cooperating light-polarizing bodies, at least one body of each of said pairs being firmly held by said mounting means in a position adapted to substantially eliminate specular glare, and at least one other body of each or said pairs being adjustably held by said mounting means in position to coperate with said first-mentioned body in the elimination of diffuse glare.

2. In a device of the character described, in combination, ophthalmic mounting means of such character that the device is adapted to be positioned on the head of the user, and a plurality of cooperating light-polarizing bodies of unlimited angular aperture overlying each other and so held by said mounting means that at least one of said bodies is rotatably positioned with respect to another of said bodies whereby upon rotation of said first mentioned body the density of the combined plurality may be altered.

3. In a device of the character described, in combination, mounting means adapted to position the device on the head of a user, a plurality of overlying, adjacent cooperating relatively thin light-polarizing bodies of unlimited angular aperture so held in said mounting means that light coming to one eye of a user traverses both of said bodies, one of said bodies being positioned to block light vibrating in a horizontal plane whereby specular glare, is eliminated, and another of said bodies being rotatably positioned with respect to said first-mentioned body and adapted in cooperation with said flrst-mentioned body to substantially eliminate diffuse glare and to alter the density of the said plurality of bodies.

4. A sun-glass comprising lens-mounting means adapted to hold and position two sets of viewing screens, each of said sets comprising a plurality of adjacent cooperating relatively thin light-polarizing bodies of unlimited angular aperture, one of said bodies being permanently positioned by said mounting means to transmit light vibrating only in a vertical plane when said sunglass is in normal position on the head of a user, the other of said polarizing bodies being held by said mounting means in rotatable relation with respect to said first-mentioned polarizing body.

5. A sun-glass comprising lens-mounting means adapted to hold and position two sets of viewing screens, each of said sets comprising a plurality of adjacent cooperating relatively thin light-polarizing bodies of unlimited angular aperture, the outermost polarizing body of each of said sets being permanently held and positioned by said mounting means so as to substantially eliminate specular glare, and another of said polarizing bodies in each of said sets being rotatably held by said mounting means with respect to said first-mentioned bodies and being .adapted in cooperation with said flrst-men tioned bodies to substantially eliminate diffuse glare.

6. A variable density sun-glass comprising a spectacle frame, and a plurality of light polarizing elements held in each eye-piece of said frame, at least one element of each plurality being rotatably held, said elements cooperating to change their combined capacity with the rotation of the rotatably held elements.

7. A variable density sun-glass comprising a spectacle frame, and a plurality of substantially transparent elements held in each eye-piece of said frame, at least one element of each plurality being rotatably mounted, said elements cooperating to change their combined opacity with the rotation of the rotatable element.

8. A variable density sun-glass comprising a spectacle frame, and a plurality of substantially transparent elements held in each eye-piece of said frame, at least one of said elements of each 75 plurality being rotatably mounted, each plurality being adapted to transmit a maximum amount of light when the rotatable element thereof is positioned in a predetermined manner, and each plurality being adapted to transmit a less amount of light as the rotatable element thereof is rotated from said predetermined position.

9. A variable density sun-glass comprising a spectacle frame, a plurality of substantially transparent superimposed elementsheld in each eye-piece of said frame, at least one of said elements of each plurality being rotatably held, the elements of each plurality cooperating to vary the nnwm n. 

